Data scheduling method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A data scheduling method and apparatus. The method includes: allocating, by an access point (AP), at least one of a plurality of primary channels to each of a plurality of stations (STAs), where active access is forbidden on the plurality of primary channels; and synchronously scheduling, by the AP, a STA on a channel including at least one idle primary channel, where the synchronously scheduled STA is a STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel, and the at least one idle primary channel is at least one of the plurality of primary channels. In the embodiments, the AP sets the plurality of primary channels, so that the AP can flexibly schedule the station by using the idle primary channel. This avoids a problem caused by setting only one primary channel, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2019/083206, filed on Apr. 18, 2019, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201810910924.3, filed on Aug. 10, 2018.The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments relate to the communications field, and in particular,to a data scheduling method and apparatus.

BACKGROUND

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE) 802.11 isone of mainstream wireless access standards and has been widely used incommercial applications over the past 10 years.

In the IEEE 802.11a standard, only a 20 MHz bandwidth is supported, andthe bandwidth is continuously increased during evolution of subsequentstandards. The IEEE 802.11n standard supports a maximum bandwidth of 40MHz, and the IEEE 802.11ac/ax standard supports a maximum bandwidth of160 MHz. However, to ensure backwards compatibility, there is a uniqueprimary 20 MHz channel regardless of the bandwidth. Regardless of abandwidth in which an access point (AP) and a station (STA) send data,the primary 20 MHz channel needs to be included. As a result, when theprimary 20 MHz channel is busy, all other idle secondary channels cannotbe used; and consequently, system efficiency is greatly reduced.Currently, a 320 MHz bandwidth is proposed in a next-generation Wi-Fistandard. If an existing architecture continues to be used, a bottleneckproblem caused by the primary 20 MHz channel will be further aggravated.

Therefore, improving efficiency of data transmission between the AP andthe STA has become a problem that needs to be urgently resolved.

SUMMARY

The embodiments provides a data scheduling method and apparatus.According to the method, data transmission efficiency can be improved.

According to a first aspect, a data scheduling method is provided. Themethod includes:

allocating, by an (access point) AP, at least one of a plurality ofprimary channels to each of a plurality of stations (STAs or STA whensingular), where active access is forbidden on the plurality of primarychannels; and

synchronously scheduling, by the AP, an STA on a channel including atleast one idle primary channel, where the synchronously scheduled STA isa STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel, and the atleast one idle primary channel is at least one of the plurality ofprimary channels.

In this embodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primary channels in asystem bandwidth. The AP allocates at least one of the plurality ofprimary channels to each of the plurality of STAs, where active accessis forbidden on the plurality of primary channels. The AP synchronouslyschedules the STA on the channel including the at least one idle primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels, where the synchronouslyscheduled STA is the STA allocated to the idle primary channel. In thisembodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primary channels, so that theAP can flexibly schedule the station by using the idle primary channel.This avoids a problem caused by setting only one primary channel in theprior art, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

In addition, in this embodiment, the AP schedules the STAs in a unifiedmanner, so that it is ensured that only uplink transmission or downlinktransmission can be performed at a same time, and a conflict caused whenboth uplink transmission and downlink transmission are performed at thesame time can be avoided.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, a maximum bandwidth corresponding to each of the plurality ofprimary channels is a maximum bandwidth supported by the AP.

In this embodiment, a maximum bandwidth mode corresponding to eachprimary channel may be the maximum bandwidth (namely, a maximum systembandwidth) supported by the AP. Therefore, in this embodiment, a maximumbandwidth of a protocol data unit (presentation protocol data unit orPPDU) sent by using a primary channel is not decreased because theplurality of primary channels are introduced. In other words, foranother primary channel, the primary channel is a secondary channel.When a channel bandwidth including the plurality of primary channels isidle, the AP may choose to send a PPDU corresponding to a primarychannel, or may send a plurality of PPDUs, where each PPDU correspondsto a primary channel. When a large-bandwidth PPDU (that is, a bandwidthof the PPDU includes the plurality of primary channels) is sent, thelarge-bandwidth PPDU may provide a higher peak rate for the STAs, wherethe STAs allocated to different primary channels may use the channel ina time division manner. When the AP sends the plurality of PPDUsconcurrently, although a peak rate of a STA corresponding to each PPDUis reduced, the plurality of STAs on the plurality of primary channelscan simultaneously use the channel. This helps reduce a latency. Thus,during actual application, the AP may flexibly perform scheduling in theforegoing manner based on an actual requirement. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the maximum bandwidthsupported by the AP is not limited to 320 MHz. For example, the maximumbandwidth supported by the AP may be less than 320 MHz, for example, 160MHz. Alternatively, the maximum bandwidth supported by the AP may begreater than 320 MHz, for example, 640 MHz. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

It can be noted that, before the STAs associate with the AP, the AP doesnot know existence of the STAs; and consequently, the AP cannot schedulethe STAs. In this embodiment, active access of the stations is forbiddenon the primary channels. Therefore, the AP needs to associate with theSTAs, so that the AP then can schedule the STAs.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, before the AP synchronously schedules the STA on the channelincluding the at least one idle primary channel in the plurality ofprimary channels, the method further includes:

accepting, by the AP, association performed by the plurality of STAs inone of the following manners:

an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiplexing random access(uplink OFDMA random access, UORA) manner;

an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) manner within a randomcontention period allocated by the AP; or

through another AP, where the another AP and the AP belong to a samedevice.

Thus, in an implementation, the plurality of STAs may send uplink framesto the AP in the UORA manner, to associate with the AP.

Alternatively, in another implementation, the AP may allocate somerandom contention periods. For example, the plurality of STAs areallowed to perform EDCA within the random contention periods, and EDCAis forbidden within another time period. In this way, the STAs may senduplink frames within EDCA time periods, to associate with the AP.

Alternatively, in another implementation, the plurality of STAs mayassociate with the AP through the another AP, where the another AP andthe AP belong to the same device (a radio access device).

It can be noted that, in this embodiment, one radio access device mayhave one AP or a plurality of APs. The radio access device may supportmultiple bands, and each band may have one or more channels. When theradio access device has the plurality of APs, the plurality of APsbelonging to a same radio access device are sometimes referred to asco-located APs, and a plurality of basic service sets (BSSs or BSS whensingular) corresponding to the plurality of APs are referred to asco-located BSSs. Different APs may correspond to different channels. Inthis embodiment, the plurality of STAs may associate with the AP throughthe another AP that belongs to the same radio access device as the AP.The two APs may work on one band or may work on two bands. The bands mayinclude, but are not limited to, bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, and 60GHz. This embodiment is not limited thereto. The another AP allowsrandom access of the STAs. For example, the another AP allows randomaccess of the STAs, so that the plurality of STAs can associate with theAP through the another AP. Thus, for a frame format and a specificmessage of a frame sent when the STAs associate with the AP through theanother AP, refer to descriptions in the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard.Details are not described herein.

It can be noted that, in this embodiment, the STAs may alternativelyassociate with the AP in another manner. This embodiment is not limitedthereto. For example, the STAs may alternatively associate with the APin a DCF manner.

For example, in this embodiment, the STAs need to first associate withthe AP. After association is completed, the AP allocates one or moreprimary channels (for example, the primary channel is a primary 20 MHzchannel) to each STA. Finally, the STAs associated with the AP form aSTA group in each primary 20 MHz channel. Each group of STAs may focusonly on a primary 20 MHz channel allocated to the group of STAs, and theSTAs may not receive a PPDU that is not sent by using the allocatedprimary 20 MHz channel.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the AP may further send a beacon frameon each primary 20 MHz channel, so that the STAs on each primary 20 MHzchannel can perform clock synchronization and update BSS parameters.

In this embodiment, active access is forbidden on the primary channels,and both uplink transmission and downlink transmission are scheduled bythe AP. Therefore, in this embodiment, it can be avoided that uplinktransmission is performed on a primary 20 MHz channel while downlinktransmission is performed on another 20 MHz channel.

Because the AP schedules the STAs in a unified manner, in thisembodiment, the AP may support a plurality of primary 20 MHz channels byusing a single transceiver. During actual application, because the APschedules the STAs in the unified manner, the AP may choose to ignoreuplink random access information sent by the STAs and does not respondto the STAs.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, that the AP synchronously schedules the STA on the channelincluding the at least one idle primary channel in the plurality ofprimary channels includes:

sending, by the AP on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, to the STA allocated to the idle primary channel, onedownlink protocol data unit PPDU, or a plurality of downlink PPDUssimultaneously, where each PPDU occupies at least one primary channel;

or

sending, by the AP on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, to the STA allocated to the idle primary channel, onetrigger frame, or a plurality of trigger frames simultaneously, where aPPDU in which each trigger frame is located occupies at least oneprimary channel, and the trigger frame is used to trigger the STAallocated to the idle primary channel to send one uplink PPDU orsimultaneously send a plurality of uplink PPDUs; and

receiving, by the AP, the uplink PPDU, or the plurality of uplink PPDUssimultaneously.

For example, the AP may schedule a corresponding STA by including a STAidentifier in at least one user information (user info) field in thetrigger frame. Each user information field may carry a STA identifier.This embodiment is not limited thereto.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the channel including theat least one idle primary channel may include only the at least one idleprimary channel, or may include the at least one idle primary channel,another primary channel, and a secondary channel. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

The following describes a solution in which the AP determines the idleprimary channel in a backoff manner and schedules the STA by using thechannel including the at least one idle primary channel in thisembodiment.

For example, during actual application, the AP executes backoff. Whendetermining that the primary channel is in an idle state, the APsynchronously sends one or more downlink PPDUs on the channel includingthe at least one idle primary channel, or synchronously schedules one ormore uplink PPDUs by using the trigger frame.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the plurality of primary channels correspond to one backoffcounter, after a continuous idle time period of a first primary channelin the plurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if the firstprimary channel continues to be idle, the backoff counter is decreasedby 1 for each idle slot, and when a value of the backoff counter is 0,the first primary channel is in the idle state, where the first primarychannel is any one of the plurality of primary channels.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the method further includes:

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of the backoff counter to a presetminimum window value, or if all the N pieces of data fail to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of the backoff counter to a smallerone of a preset maximum window value and a value twice a current windowvalue plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame,and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, each of the plurality of primary channels corresponds to onebackoff counter, after a continuous idle time period of a second primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if thesecond primary channel continues to be idle, a second backoff countercorresponding to the second primary channel is decreased by 1 for eachidle slot, and when a value of the second backoff counter is 0, thesecond primary channel is in the idle state, where the second primarychannel is any one of the plurality of primary channels.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, each of the plurality of primary channels corresponds to onebackoff counter, after a continuous idle time period of a third primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if thethird primary channel continues to be idle, a third backoff countercorresponding to the third primary channel is decreased by 1 for eachidle slot, and after a value of the third backoff counter is 0, when avalue of a fourth backoff counter corresponding to a fourth primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels other than the thirdprimary channel is backed off to 0, the fourth primary channel is in theidle state, where the third primary channel and the fourth primarychannel are any two of the plurality of primary channels.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the method further includes:

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a presetminimum window value, or if all the N pieces of data fail to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a smaller oneof a preset maximum window value and a value twice a current windowvalue plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame,and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a presetminimum window value, or if all the N pieces of data fail to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter whose value is 0 and that corresponds to a primary channeloccupied by the N pieces of data to a smaller one of a preset maximumwindow value and a value twice a current window value plus 1, where thedata is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integergreater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter corresponding to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the method further includes:

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primarychannel occupied by the piece of data to a preset minimum window value,or if one piece of data fails to be sent, updating, by the AP, a windowvalue of a backoff counter corresponding to a primary channel occupiedby the piece of data to a smaller one of a preset maximum window valueand a value twice a current window value plus 1, where the data is thedownlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than orequal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primarychannel occupied by the piece of data to a preset minimum window value,or if one piece of data fails to be sent, updating, by the AP, a windowvalue of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and that corresponds to aprimary channel occupied by the piece of data to a smaller one of apreset maximum window value and a value twice a current window valueplus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and Nis an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and thatcorresponds to a primary channel occupied by the piece of data to apreset minimum window value, or if one piece of data fails to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the piece ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and thatcorresponds to a primary channel occupied by the piece of data to apreset minimum window value, or if one piece of data fails to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the piece of data to a smaller one of apreset maximum window value and a value twice a current window valueplus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and Nis an integer greater than or equal to 1.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the plurality of primary channels correspond to a plurality ofBSSs, and channels of at least two of the plurality of BSSs completelyor partially overlap;

or

the plurality of primary channels correspond to a same BSS.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, when the plurality of primary channels correspond to theplurality of BSSs, some or all of the plurality of BSSs have a sameidentifier ID or a same BSS color, and stations in different BSSs in thesome or all BSSs have different identifiers.

In this embodiment, identifiers IDs or BSS colors of some or all of theplurality of BSSs are set to be the same. Therefore, in this embodiment,stations in the plurality of BSSs that have the same BSS identifier IDor the same BSS color can be simultaneously scheduled by using one PPDU.It can be understood that a frame format of the PPDU may be the same asa frame format of a PPDU used when a plurality of stations are scheduledin a single BSS. This embodiment is not limited thereto.

According to a second aspect, a data scheduling method is provided. Themethod includes:

obtaining, by a STA, at least one of a plurality of primary channelsallocated by an AP, where active access is forbidden on the plurality ofprimary channels; and

receiving, by the STA, synchronous scheduling of the AP by using the atleast one primary channel.

For example, in this embodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primarychannels in a system bandwidth. The AP allocates at least one of theplurality of primary channels to each of a plurality of STAs, whereactive access is forbidden on the plurality of primary channels. The STAreceives scheduling of the AP by using the at least one primary channel.In this embodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primary channels, sothat the AP can flexibly schedule the station by using an idle primarychannel. This avoids a problem caused by setting only one primarychannel in the prior art, thereby improving data transmissionefficiency.

In addition, in this embodiment, the AP schedules the STAs in a unifiedmanner, so that it is ensured that only uplink transmission or downlinktransmission can be performed at a same time, and a conflict caused whenboth uplink transmission and downlink transmission are performed at thesame time can be avoided.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, when scheduling theplurality of STAs to send uplink PPDUs, the AP may schedule some STAs tosend uplink PPDUs on a primary channel or may schedule some STAs to senduplink PPDUs on a secondary channel. This embodiment is not limitedthereto.

It can be understood that the second aspect may be performed by astation, and the first aspect may be performed by an access point thatcommunicates with the station. The method in the second aspect performedby the station corresponds to the method in the first aspect performedby the access point. For a specific implementation and beneficialeffects of the second aspect, refer to the foregoing descriptions.Detailed descriptions are properly omitted herein.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, that the STA receives scheduling of the AP by using theidle primary channel in the at least one primary channel includes:

receiving, by the STA by using the at least one primary channel, onedownlink protocol data unit PPDU sent by the AP or a plurality ofdownlink PPDUs simultaneously sent by the AP, where each PPDU occupiesat least one primary channel;

or

receiving, by the STA by using the at least one primary channel, onetrigger frame sent by the AP or a plurality of trigger framessimultaneously sent by the AP, where a PPDU in which each trigger frameis located occupies at least one primary channel, and the trigger frameis used to trigger the STA to send one uplink PPDU or simultaneouslysend a plurality of uplink PPDUs; and

sending, by the STA to the AP, the uplink PPDU, or the plurality ofuplink PPDUs simultaneously.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the plurality of primary channels correspond to aplurality of BSSs, and channels of at least two of the plurality of BSSscompletely or partially overlap; or

the plurality of primary channels correspond to a same BSS.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, when the plurality of primary channels correspond to theplurality of BSSs, some or all of the plurality of BSSs have a sameidentifier ID or a same BSS color, and stations in different BSSs in thesome or all BSSs have different identifiers.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, before the STA receives scheduling of the AP by using theidle primary channel in the at least one primary channel, the methodfurther includes:

associating with, by the STA, the AP in one of the following manners:

an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiplexing random access UORAmanner;

an enhanced distributed channel access EDCA manner within a randomcontention period allocated by the AP; or

through another AP, where the another AP and the AP belong to a samedevice.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, a maximum bandwidth corresponding to each of theplurality of primary channels is a maximum bandwidth supported by theAP.

According to a third aspect, a data scheduling apparatus is provided.The apparatus includes each module or unit configured to perform themethod according to any one of the first aspect or the possibleimplementations of the first aspect.

In an implementation, the apparatus is an access point.

According to a fourth aspect, a data scheduling apparatus is provided.The apparatus includes each module or unit configured to perform themethod according to any one of the second aspect or the possibleimplementations of the second aspect.

In an implementation, the apparatus is a station.

According to a fifth aspect, a data scheduling apparatus is provided.The apparatus includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. Theprocessor is configured to control the transceiver to: send and receivesignals, the memory is configured to store a computer program, and theprocessor is configured to: invoke the computer program from the memoryand run the computer program, so that the apparatus performs the methodaccording to the first aspect or the possible implementations of thefirst aspect.

In an implementation, the apparatus is an access point.

According to a sixth aspect, a data scheduling apparatus is provided.The apparatus includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. Theprocessor is configured to control the transceiver to: send and receivesignals, the memory is configured to store a computer program, and theprocessor is configured to: invoke the computer program from the memoryand run the computer program, so that the apparatus performs the methodaccording to the second aspect or the possible implementations of thesecond aspect.

In an implementation, the apparatus is a station.

According to a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided.The computer-readable medium stores a computer program. When thecomputer program is executed by a computer, the method according to anyone of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the firstaspect is implemented.

According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided.The computer-readable medium stores a computer program. When thecomputer program is executed by a computer, the method according to anyone of the second aspect or the possible implementations of the secondaspect is implemented.

According to a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided.When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the methodaccording to any one of the first aspect or the possible implementationsof the first aspect is implemented.

According to a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided.When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the methodaccording to any one of the second aspect or the possibleimplementations of the second aspect is implemented.

According to an eleventh aspect, a processing apparatus is provided. Theapparatus includes a processor and an interface.

The processor is configured to perform the method according to any oneof the first aspect and the second aspect or the possibleimplementations of the first aspect and the second aspect. A relateddata exchange process is completed through the interface. In animplementation process, the interface may further complete the dataexchange process through the transceiver.

It can be understood that the processing apparatus according to theeleventh aspect may be a chip. The processor may be implemented by usinghardware or may be implemented by using software. When the processor isimplemented by using the hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit,an integrated circuit, or the like; or when the processor is implementedby using the software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor,and is implemented by reading software code stored in a memory. Thememory may be integrated into the processor, may be located outside theprocessor, and may exist independently. The memory and the processor maycommunicate with each other in a wired or wireless manner.

According to a twelfth aspect, a system is provided. The system includesthe foregoing access point and station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario to which an embodiment isapplicable;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a data scheduling method according toan embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of primary channel distribution accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a channel mode according to anembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of downlink transmission according to anembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of uplink transmission according to anembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a channel mode according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a downlink PPDU according to anembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to anembodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an access point according to anembodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to anotherembodiment; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a station according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes solutions of the embodiments with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

The solutions in the embodiments may be used in various communicationssystems, for example, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system.Optionally, the embodiments may be further used in a system in whichbeamforming training needs to be performed, for example, a long termevolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system,an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability formicrowave access (WiMAX) communications system, a 5th generation (5G)system, or a new radio (NR) system.

Only the WLAN system is used as an example below to describe anapplication scenario in the embodiments and a method in the embodiments.

For example, the embodiments may be used in a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN), and the embodiments may be used in any protocol in theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 seriescurrently used in the WLAN. The WLAN may include one or more basicservice sets (BSS). A network node in the basic service set includes anaccess point (AP or APs when plural) and a station (STA or STAs whenplural). In IEEE 802.11ad, a personal basic service set (PBSS) and apersonal basic service set control point (PCP) are introduced based onthe original BSS. Each personal basic service set may include one AP/PCPand a plurality of stations associated with the AP/PCP. It can beunderstood that, in the embodiments, a device that communicates with thestation may be an AP or a PCP. For ease of description, onlycommunication between the AP and the station is used as an example belowfor description. A behavior of communication between the PCP and thestation is similar to that of communication between the AP and thestation.

It can be understood that, in the embodiments, the station may also bereferred to a system, a subscriber unit, an access terminal, a mobilestation, a mobile console, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobiledevice, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communications device, auser agent, a user apparatus, or user equipment (UE). The station may bea wireless communications chip, a wireless sensor, or a wirelesscommunications terminal. For example, the station is a mobile phonesupporting a Wi-Fi communication function, a tablet computer supportinga Wi-Fi communication function, a set-top box supporting a Wi-Ficommunication function, a smart television supporting a Wi-Ficommunication function, an intelligent wearable device supporting aWi-Fi communication function, a vehicle-mounted communications devicesupporting a Wi-Fi communication function, or a computer supporting aWi-Fi communication function. Optionally, the station may support the802.11ax standard. Further, optionally, the station supports a pluralityof WLAN standards, such as 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and802.11a.

The AP in the embodiments may be configured to: communicate with theaccess terminal by using the wireless local area network, and transmitdata from the access terminal to a network side, or transmit data from anetwork side to the access terminal. The AP is also be referred to as awireless access point, a hotspot, or the like. The AP is an access pointused by a mobile user to access a wired network, and is mainly deployedin a home, inside a building, and inside a campus, with a typicalcoverage radius of tens of meters to hundreds of meters. Further, the APmay alternatively be deployed outdoors. The AP is equivalent to a bridgethat connects a wired network and a wireless network. A main function ofthe AP is to connect wireless network clients together, and then connectthe wireless network to the Ethernet. For example, the AP may be aterminal device or a network device with a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)chip. Optionally, the AP may be a device that supports the 802.11axstandard. Further, optionally, the AP may be a device that supports aplurality of WLAN standards, such as 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g,802.11b, and 802.11a.

In the embodiments, the access point or the station includes a hardwarelayer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and anapplication layer running on the operating system layer. The hardwarelayer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), amemory management unit (MMU), or a memory (also referred to as a mainmemory). The operating system may be any one or more types of computeroperating systems, for example, a Linux operating system, a Unixoperating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system,or a Windows operating system, that implement service processing byusing a process (process). The application layer includes applicationssuch as a browser, an address book, word processing software, andinstant messaging software. In addition, a specific structure of anexecution body of the method provided in the embodiments is notspecially limited in the embodiments, provided that a program thatrecords code of the method provided in the embodiments can be run toperform communication according to the method provided in theembodiments. For example, the method provided in the embodiments may beperformed by the access point or the station, or a function module thatcan invoke and execute the program in the access point or the station.

In addition, aspects or features of the embodiments may be implementedas a method, an apparatus or a product that uses standard programmingand/or engineering technologies. The term “product” used in theembodiments covers a computer program that can be accessed from anycomputer-readable component, carrier or medium. For example, acomputer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to: a magneticstorage component (for example, a hard disk, a floppy disk, or amagnetic tape), an optical disc (for example, a compact disc (CD) or adigital versatile disc (DVD)), or a smart card and a flash memorycomponent (for example, an erasable programmable read-only memory(erasable programmable read-only memory, EPROM), a card, a stick, or akey drive). In addition, various storage media described may indicateone or more devices and/or other machine-readable media that areconfigured to store information. The term “machine-readable media” mayinclude but is not limited to a radio channel, and various other mediathat can store, contain, and/or carry an instruction and/or data.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to anembodiment. A scenario system shown in FIG. 1 may be a WLAN system. TheWLAN system in FIG. 1 may include one or more APs/PCPs and one or moreSTAs. In FIG. 1 , one AP/PCP and three STAs are used as an example.Wireless communication may be performed between the AP/PCP and each ofthe STAs according to various standards. The wireless communicationbetween the AP/PCP and the STA may be performed by using a single-usermultiple-input multiple-output (SU-MIMO) technology or a multi-usermultiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology.

It can be understood that, in the embodiments, the AP may be an AP in aradio access device. The radio access device may have one AP.Optionally, a same radio access device may alternatively have aplurality of APs. The radio access device may support multiple bands(multiple bands), and each band may have one or more channels. When theradio access device has the plurality of APs, the plurality of APsbelonging to the same device are sometimes referred to as co-locatedAPs, and a plurality of BSSs corresponding to the plurality of APs arereferred to as co-located BSSs. Different APs may correspond todifferent channels.

It can be understood that, in the embodiments, a device thatcommunicates with the station may be the AP or the PCP. For ease ofdescription, only communication between the AP and the station is usedas an example below for description. A behavior of communication betweenthe PCP and the station is similar to that of communication between theAP and the station.

In an existing standard, to ensure backwards compatibility, there is aunique primary 20 MHz channel regardless of the bandwidth in the WLANsystem. Regardless of a bandwidth in which an access point (such as awireless access point or AP) and a station (STA) send data, the primary20 MHz channel needs to be included. However, when the primary 20 MHzchannel is busy, all other idle secondary channels cannot be used; andconsequently, system efficiency is greatly reduced.

In view of the foregoing problem, the embodiments provide a datascheduling method, to resolve the foregoing problem and improve datatransmission efficiency.

In the embodiments, an AP sets a plurality of primary channels in asystem bandwidth. The AP allocates at least one of the plurality ofprimary channels to each of a plurality of STAs, where active access isforbidden on the plurality of primary channels. The AP synchronouslyschedules a STA on a channel including at least one idle primary channelin the plurality of primary channels, where the synchronously scheduledSTA is a STA allocated to the idle primary channel. In the embodiments,the AP sets the plurality of primary channels, so that the AP canflexibly schedule the station by using the idle primary channel. Thisavoids a problem caused by setting only one primary channel in the priorart, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

In addition, in the embodiments, the AP schedules the STAs in a unifiedmanner, so that it is ensured that only uplink transmission or downlinktransmission can be performed at a same time, and a conflict caused whenboth uplink transmission and downlink transmission are performed at thesame time can be avoided.

As an example, instead of a limitation, the following describes indetail a data scheduling method according to an embodiment withreference to FIG. 2 .

A method 200 shown in FIG. 2 includes the following steps.

210: An AP allocates at least one of a plurality of primary channels toeach of a plurality of STAs, where active access is forbidden on theplurality of primary channels.

Correspondingly, each of the plurality of STAs obtains at least one ofthe plurality of primary channels allocated by the AP.

The AP may first establish a plurality of primary channels, for example,two primary channels, three primary channels, or more primary channels.In other words, the AP sets the plurality of primary channels in asystem bandwidth, where active access of a STA is forbidden on each ofthe plurality of primary channels. Then, the AP allocates at least oneprimary channel to each STA.

Alternatively, in this embodiment, the AP may first establish a primarychannel, and allocate a group of STAs to the primary channel. Then, theAP establishes a second primary channel, and allocates a group of STAsto the second primary channel. Similarly, the AP establishes moreprimary channels, and correspondingly allocates STAs to the primarychannels. Active access of a STA is forbidden on each primary channel.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, for an AP, active accessis forbidden on each of a plurality of primary channels established bythe AP. For a STA, active access is forbidden on each of at least oneprimary channel allocated to the STA, and the STA may not need toconsider a state of another primary channel to which the STA is notallocated.

During actual application, the AP may allocate each STA to one or moreprimary channels in a plurality of manners.

The AP sends a beacon frame or a probe response frame on each primarychannel, where the beacon frame or the probe response frame carriesindication information of the primary channel and BSS channelinformation. The STA selects a primary channel, and then associates withthe AP on the primary channel.

Alternatively, the AP sends a beacon frame or a probe response frame ona primary channel, where the beacon frame or the probe response framecarries indication information of the primary channel and BSS channelinformation. The STA associates with the AP on the primary channel Afterassociation is completed, the AP sends a channel switching message tothe STA, so that the STA switches to another primary channel.

Alternatively, the STA associates with a first AP, where the first APworks on a first channel. After association is completed, the STAswitches to a primary channel of a second AP by using a BSS switchingprocedure, where the second AP has a plurality of primary channels.

Alternatively, the STA associates with a first AP, where the first APworks on the first channel After association is completed, the first APsends a beacon frame or a probe response frame that carries a multi-bandelement, where the multi-band element carries information about aprimary channel of a second AP. The STA completes association with theprimary channel of the second AP through on-channel tunneling (OCT)between the first AP and the STA. The second AP has a plurality ofprimary channels.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , when the system bandwidth is 320 MHz,the AP may select one 20 MHz channel from each 80 MHz channel as aprimary 20 MHz channel. In this way, there are four primary 20 MHzchannels in the 320 MHz bandwidth. When one of the primary 20 MHzchannels is unavailable, the other three primary 20 MHz channels mayalternatively be used for sending, so that flexibility of datatransmission can be improved, thereby improving data transmissionefficiency.

Optionally, in an embodiment, a maximum bandwidth corresponding to eachof the plurality of primary channels is a maximum bandwidth supported bythe AP.

For example, in this embodiment, a maximum bandwidth mode correspondingto each primary channel may be the maximum bandwidth (namely, a maximumsystem bandwidth) supported by the AP. Therefore, in this embodiment, amaximum bandwidth of a protocol data unit (presentation protocol dataunit or PPDU) sent by using a primary channel is not decreased becausethe plurality of primary channels are introduced. In other words, foranother primary channel, the primary channel is a secondary channel.When a channel bandwidth including the plurality of primary channels isidle, the AP may choose to send a PPDU corresponding to a primarychannel, or may send a plurality of PPDUs, where each PPDU correspondsto a primary channel. When a large-bandwidth PPDU (that is, a bandwidthof the PPDU includes the plurality of primary channels) is sent, thelarge-bandwidth PPDU may provide a higher peak rate for the STAs, wherethe STAs allocated to different primary channels may use the channel ina time division manner. When the AP sends the plurality of PPDUsconcurrently, although a peak rate of a STA corresponding to each PPDUis reduced, the plurality of STAs on the plurality of primary channelscan simultaneously use the channel. This helps reduce a latency. Thus,during actual application, the AP may flexibly perform scheduling in theforegoing manner based on an actual requirement. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the maximum bandwidthsupported by the AP is not limited to 320 MHz. For example, the maximumbandwidth supported by the AP may be less than 320 MHz, for example, 160MHz. Alternatively, the maximum bandwidth supported by the AP may begreater than 320 MHz, for example, 640 MHz. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

It can be noted that, before the STAs associate with the AP, the AP doesnot know existence of the STAs; and consequently, the AP cannot schedulethe STAs. In this embodiment, active access of the stations is forbiddenon the primary channels. Therefore, the AP needs to associate with theSTAs, so that the AP then can schedule the STAs.

Optionally, in another implementation, in this embodiment, the STAs mayassociate with the AP in one of the following manners:

an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiplexing random access(uplink OFDMA random access, UORA) manner;

an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) manner within a randomcontention period allocated by the AP; or

through another AP, where the another AP and the AP belong to a samedevice.

Thus, in an implementation, the plurality of STAs may send uplink framesto the AP in the UORA manner, to associate with the AP.

Alternatively, in another implementation, in this embodiment, the AP mayallocate some random contention periods. For example, the plurality ofSTAs are allowed to perform EDCA within the random contention periods,and EDCA is forbidden within another time period. In this way, the STAsmay send uplink frames within EDCA time periods, to associate with theAP.

Alternatively, in another implementation, the plurality of STAs mayassociate with the AP through the another AP, where the another AP andthe AP belong to the same device (a radio access device).

It can be noted that, in this embodiment, one radio access device mayhave one AP or a plurality of APs. The radio access device may supportmultiple bands (multiple bands), and each band may have one or morechannels. When the radio access device has the plurality of APs, theplurality of APs belonging to a same radio access device are sometimesreferred to as co-located APs, and a plurality of BSSs corresponding tothe plurality of APs are referred to as co-located BSSs. Different APsmay correspond to different channels. In this embodiment, the pluralityof STAs may associate with the AP through the another AP that belongs tothe same radio access device as the AP. The two APs may work on oneband, or may work on two bands. The bands may include but are notlimited to bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, and 60 GHz. This embodimentis not limited thereto. The another AP allows random access of the STAs.For example, the another AP allows random access of the STAs, so thatthe plurality of STAs can associate with the AP through the another AP.Thus, for a frame format and a specific message of a frame sent when theSTAs associate with the AP through the another AP, refer to descriptionsin the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard. Details are not described herein.

It can be noted that, in this embodiment, the STAs may alternativelyassociate with the AP in another manner. This embodiment is not limitedthereto. For example, the STAs may alternatively associate with the APin a distributed coordination function (DCF) manner.

In this embodiment, the STAs need to first associate with the AP. Afterassociation is completed, the AP allocates one or more primary channels(for example, the primary channel is a primary 20 MHz channel) to eachSTA. Finally, the STAs associated with the AP form a STA group in eachprimary 20 MHz channel. Each group of STAs may focus only on a primary20 MHz channel allocated to the group of STAs, and the STAs may notreceive a PPDU that is not sent by using the allocated primary 20 MHzchannel.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the AP may further send a beacon frameon each primary 20 MHz channel, so that the STAs on each primary 20 MHzchannel can perform clock synchronization and update BSS parameters.

In this embodiment, active access is forbidden on the primary channels,and both uplink transmission and downlink transmission are scheduled bythe AP. Therefore, in this embodiment, it can be avoided that uplinktransmission is performed on a primary 20 MHz channel while downlinktransmission is performed on another 20 MHz channel.

Because the AP schedules the STAs in a unified manner, in thisembodiment, the AP may support a plurality of primary 20 MHz channels byusing a single transceiver. During actual application, because the APschedules the STAs in the unified manner, the AP may choose to ignoreuplink random access information sent by the STAs and does not respondto the STAs.

220: The AP synchronously schedules a STA on a channel including atleast one idle primary channel, where the synchronously scheduled STA isa STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel, and the atleast one idle primary channel is at least one of the plurality ofprimary channels.

In a solution, assuming that the AP does not synchronously schedule theSTA, the following problem exists: in a process in which the AP sendsdata on a primary 20 MHz channel, an associated STA sends uplink data tothe AP by using another primary 20 MHz channel. In this case, if the APhas only one set of transceivers and is not capable of simultaneouslyperforming transmission and reception on different channels, the APcannot perform uplink reception; and consequently, uplink transmissionfails. In addition, when the AP simultaneously performs downlinktransmission by using two primary 20 MHz channels, if lengths of data onthe two channels are different, a target STA on a first channel on whichtransmission is first completed returns a block acknowledgment (BA)first. In this case, the AP has not completed transmission on a secondchannel; and consequently, the AP cannot receive the BA on the firstchannel, resulting in packet loss. Similarly, when uplink transmissionis simultaneously performed on the two primary 20 MHz channels, the APstill receives data on the second channel after data transmission on thefirst channel is completed; and consequently, the AP cannot return a BAon the first channel, resulting in packet loss.

In this embodiment, by setting a plurality of primary channels, the APmay determine, based on clear channel assessment (CCA) results of theplurality of primary channels, a bandwidth mode used for sending, sothat the AP can flexibly schedule the station by using the idle primarychannel. This avoids a problem caused by setting only one primarychannel in the prior art, thereby improving data transmissionefficiency.

In addition, in this embodiment, active access is forbidden on theprimary channels, and both uplink transmission and downlink transmissionare scheduled by the AP. Therefore, in this embodiment, it can beavoided that uplink transmission is performed on a primary 20 MHzchannel while downlink transmission is performed on another 20 MHzchannel, so that packet loss that occurs when the AP cannotsimultaneously perform transmission and reception on the plurality ofchannels can be avoided.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the STA may have one ormore sets of transceivers. The following separately describes a specificdata scheduling procedure in which the STA has one set of transceiversand a specific data scheduling procedure in which the STA has aplurality of sets of transceivers.

When the STA has only one set of transceivers, the STA needs to firstassociate with the AP. For example, the STA associates with the AP inany one of the foregoing manners, for example, through the another APbelonging to the same device as the AP, that is, through a co-located APof the AP. After association is completed, the AP allocates at least oneprimary 20 MHz channel to the STA. The STA communicates with the AP byusing the bandwidth mode including the specified primary 20 MHz channel.Active access of the STA is not allowed on the allocated primarychannel, and the STA can only wait for the AP to send a trigger(trigger) frame for scheduling. When the STA has urgent data or does notreceive scheduling of the AP for a long time, the STA switches to aco-located BSS, and then sends uplink data to the AP through EDCA.

When the STA has N (N>=2) sets of transceivers, the STA needs to firstassociate with the AP in a co-located BSS. After association iscompleted, the AP may switch (N−1) sets of transceivers of the STA tothe plurality of primary channels, where each set of transceiverscorresponds to one primary 20 MHz channel, and one set of transceiversis reserved to continue to work in the co-located BSS. The STA receives,on the primary channel, downlink data sent by the AP, and sends uplinkdata on a specified time-frequency resource after receiving schedulinginformation of the AP. When the STA has urgent data or does not receivescheduling of the AP for a long time, the STA sends the uplink data tothe AP through EDCA in the co-located BSS. The STA may send and receivedata by using any primary 20 MHz channel allocated by the AP. In thisway, when a primary 20 MHz channel is unavailable, the STA may stillsend and receive data by using another primary 20 MHz channel. Thishelps ensure a data latency.

The AP may alternatively switch the N sets of transceivers of the STA tothe plurality of primary channels, where each set of transceiverscorresponds to one primary 20 MHz channel. The STA receives, on theprimary channel, downlink data sent by the AP, and sends uplink data ona specified time-frequency resource after receiving schedulinginformation of the AP. When the STA has urgent data or does not receivescheduling of the AP for a long time, the STA switches one set oftransceivers to a co-located BSS, and then sends uplink data to the APthrough EDCA. The STA may send and receive data by using any primary 20MHz channel allocated by the AP. In this way, when a primary 20 MHzchannel is unavailable, the STA may still send and receive data by usinganother primary 20 MHz channel. This helps ensure a data latency.

Optionally, in another embodiment, in 220, the AP sends, on the channelincluding the at least one idle primary channel, to the STA allocated tothe idle primary channel, one downlink protocol data unit PPDU, or aplurality of downlink PPDUs simultaneously, where each PPDU occupies atleast one primary channel, and each PPDU is used to schedule a STAcorresponding to the primary channel occupied by the PPDU;

or

in 220, the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, to the STA allocated to the idle primary channel, onetrigger frame, or a plurality of trigger frames simultaneously, where aPPDU in which each trigger frame is located occupies at least oneprimary channel, each trigger frame is used to schedule a STAcorresponding to the primary channel occupied by the PPDU in which thetrigger frame is located, and the trigger frame is used to trigger theSTA allocated to the idle primary channel to send one uplink PPDU orsimultaneously send a plurality of uplink PPDUs; and the AP receives theuplink PPDU, or the plurality of uplink PPDUs simultaneously.

For example, the AP may schedule a corresponding STA by including a STAidentifier in at least one user information (or user info) field in thetrigger frame. Each user information field may carry a STA identifier.This embodiment is not limited thereto.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the channel including theat least one idle primary channel may include only the at least one idleprimary channel, or may include the at least one idle primary channel,another primary channel, and a secondary channel. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

The following describes a solution in which the AP determines the idleprimary channel in a backoff manner and schedules the STA by using thechannel including the at least one idle primary channel in thisembodiment.

Thus, during actual application, the AP executes backoff. Whendetermining that the primary channel is in an idle state, the APsynchronously sends one or more downlink PPDUs on the channel includingthe at least one idle primary channel, or synchronously schedules one ormore uplink PPDUs by using the trigger frame.

The following provides three specific manners to describe the solutionin which the AP determines the idle primary channel in the backoffmanner, and schedules the STA by using the channel including the idleprimary channel in this embodiment.

Manner 1:

The plurality of primary channels correspond to one backoff counter,after a continuous idle time period of a first primary channel in theplurality of primary channels reaches an arbitration interframe space(AIFS), if the first primary channel continues to be idle, the backoffcounter is decreased by 1 for each idle slot, and when a value of thebackoff counter is 0, the first primary channel is in the idle state,where the first primary channel is any one of the plurality of primarychannels.

When the value of the backoff counter is decreased to 0, the AP checkswhether another primary 20 MHz channel and a secondary channel are idlewithin a PCF interframe space (PIFS) time period before the backoffcounter is decreased to 0. If the another primary 20 MHz channel and thesecondary channel are idle, the another primary 20 MHz channel, thesecondary channel, and the primary 20 MHz channel may form the channelincluding the at least one idle primary channel, and data is sentthrough the channel. For example, the AP sends the downlink PPDU or thetrigger frame and receives the uplink PPDU.

Further, the method includes: when the AP sends, on the channelincluding the at least one idle primary channel, N pieces of data to theSTA allocated to the idle primary channel, if at least one piece of datais successfully sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of the backoffcounter to a preset minimum window value (CWmin), or if all the N piecesof data fail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of thebackoff counter to a smaller one (namely, min(CWmax, 2*CW+1)) of apreset maximum window value and a value twice a current window valueplus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and Nis an integer greater than or equal to 1.

Manner 2:

Each of the plurality of primary channels corresponds to one backoffcounter, after a continuous idle time period of a second primary channelin the plurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if the secondprimary channel continues to be idle, a second backoff countercorresponding to the second primary channel is decreased by 1 for eachidle slot, and when a value of the second backoff counter is 0, thesecond primary channel is in the idle state, where the second primarychannel is any one of the plurality of primary channels.

When a value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primary 20 MHzchannel is decreased to 0, the AP checks whether another primary 20 MHzchannel and a secondary channel are idle within a PIFS time periodbefore the backoff counter is decreased to 0. If the another primary 20MHz channel and the secondary channel are idle, the another primary 20MHz channel, the secondary channel, and the primary 20 MHz channel mayform the channel including the at least one idle primary channel, anddata is sent through the channel. For example, the AP sends the downlinkPPDU or the trigger frame and receives the uplink PPDU.

Manner 3:

Each of the plurality of primary channels corresponds to one backoffcounter, after a continuous idle time period of a third primary channelin the plurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if the thirdprimary channel continues to be idle, a third backoff countercorresponding to the third primary channel is decreased by 1 for eachidle slot, and after a value of the third backoff counter is 0, when avalue of a fourth backoff counter corresponding to a fourth primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels other than the thirdprimary channel is backed off to 0, the fourth primary channel is in theidle state, where the third primary channel and the fourth primarychannel are any two of the plurality of primary channels.

When a value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primary 20 MHzchannel is decreased to 0, the backoff counter is suspended (that is,the value remains 0). After values of backoff counters corresponding toall the primary 20 MHz channels are decreased to 0, the AP checkswhether channels other than a primary 20 MHz channel corresponding to alast backoff counter that is decreased to 0 are idle within a PIFS timeperiod before the last backoff counter is decreased to 0. If thechannels are idle, the channels and the primary 20 MHz channel thatcorresponds to the last backoff counter that is decreased to 0 may formthe channel including the at least one idle primary channel, and data issent through the channel. For example, the AP sends the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame and receives the uplink PPDU.

It can be understood that a backoff manner of the fourth primary channelis similar to that of the third primary channel. To avoid repetition,details are not described herein again.

It can be noted that, in Manner 3, the foregoing describes a case inwhich the AP may determine that the fourth primary channel is in theidle state when the value of the backoff counter of the fourth primarychannel is 0 after the backoff counter of the third primary channel is0. Optionally, during actual application, after the backoff counter ofthe third primary channel is 0, the AP may determine, after backoffcounters of a plurality of other primary channels (for example, two,three, or more primary channels) are all 0, that the primary channelcorresponding to the last backoff counter that is backed off to 0 is inthe idle state.

Further, in the foregoing Manner 2 or Manner 3, the method may furtherinclude:

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a presetminimum window value, or if all the N pieces of data fail to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a smaller oneof a preset maximum window value and a value twice a current windowvalue plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame,and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a presetminimum window value, or if all the N pieces of data fail to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter whose value is 0 and that corresponds to a primary channeloccupied by the N pieces of data to a smaller one of a preset maximumwindow value and a value twice a current window value plus 1, where thedata is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integergreater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter corresponding to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primarychannel occupied by the piece of data to a preset minimum window value,or if one piece of data fails to be sent, updating, by the AP, a windowvalue of a backoff counter corresponding to a primary channel occupiedby the piece of data to a smaller one of a preset maximum window valueand a value twice a current window value plus 1, where the data is thedownlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than orequal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primarychannel occupied by the piece of data to a preset minimum window value,or if one piece of data fails to be sent, updating, by the AP, a windowvalue of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and that corresponds to aprimary channel occupied by the piece of data to a smaller one of apreset maximum window value and a value twice a current window valueplus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and Nis an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and thatcorresponds to a primary channel occupied by the piece of data to apreset minimum window value, or if one piece of data fails to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the piece ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

or

when the AP sends, on the channel including the at least one idleprimary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the idleprimary channel, if one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, bythe AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and thatcorresponds to a primary channel occupied by the piece of data to apreset minimum window value, or if one piece of data fails to be sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter correspondingto a primary channel occupied by the piece of data to a smaller one of apreset maximum window value and a value twice a current window valueplus 1, where the data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and Nis an integer greater than or equal to 1.

It can be understood that the foregoing embodiments are merely examples.A person of ordinary skill in the art may make proper variations basedon the foregoing examples, and these variations shall also fall withinthe protection scope. For example, the AP may alternatively update theCW in another manner. This embodiment is not limited thereto.

It can be noted that, in this embodiment, the plurality of primarychannels may correspond to one BSS, or may correspond to a plurality ofBSSs. This embodiment is not limited thereto.

For two cases—a case in which a plurality of primary channels correspondto one BSS, and a case in which a plurality of primary channelscorrespond to a plurality of BSSs, the following separately describes ascheduling method in this embodiment by using examples.

Case 1:

A plurality of primary channels correspond to one BSS.

The following uses an example in which a total bandwidth of the BSS is320 MHz, a total of four primary 20 MHz channels are established, andthe primary 20 MHz channels are respectively located in different 80 MHzchannels for description.

During actual application, a possible channel mode is shown in FIG. 4 .Each grid in the first row in FIG. 4 represents 20 MHz, and a PCH nrepresents an n^(th) primary 20 MHz channel. In FIG. 4 , the second rowshows four possible manners of sending a PPDU in a 20 MHz bandwidth, thethird row shows four possible manners of sending a PPDU in a 40 MHzbandwidth, the fourth row shows four manners of sending a PPDU in an 80MHz bandwidth, the fifth row shows two manners of sending a PPDU in a160 MHz bandwidth, and the sixth row shows a manner of sending a PPDU ina 320 MHz bandwidth. It can be seen from FIG. 4 that, when the firstprimary 20 MHz channel is unavailable, a 20 MHz channel, a 40 MHzchannel, an 80 MHz channel, a 160 MHz channel, and a 320 MHz channelthat include the first primary 20 MHz channel are no longer available.However, there are still three 20 MHz bandwidth modes, three 40 MHzbandwidth modes, three 80 MHz bandwidth modes, and one 160 MHz bandwidthmode available. Therefore, it can be understood that, after theplurality of primary 20 MHz channels are introduced, channel useflexibility can be greatly improved, thereby improving channelutilization and data transmission efficiency.

In this embodiment, both uplink transmission and downlink transmissionin the BSS are performed in the scheduling manner. Therefore, theplurality of PPDUs may be simultaneously sent by using the plurality ofprimary 20 MHz channels, to further improve channel utilization. Forexample, in FIG. 4 , when the first primary 20 MHz channel isunavailable, if only one PPDU can be sent, a maximum bandwidth mode of160 MHz is used. However, when the plurality of PPDUs are simultaneouslysent, the last three PPDUs in 80 MHz bandwidths, or the second PPDU inan 80 MHz bandwidth and the second PPDU in a 160 MHz bandwidth may beselected for use. In this way, a total channel bandwidth can reach 240MHz, thereby further improving channel utilization efficiency. However,when the plurality of PPDUs are used, it can be noted that, as shown inFIG. 5 , it needs to be ensured that the plurality of downlink PPDUs aresynchronized in time, that is, start and end simultaneously. In thisway, it can be ensured that uplink response frames can be sentsimultaneously after transmission of the plurality of PPDUs ends, sothat while performing downlink transmission on a channel, the AP doesnot need to perform uplink reception on another channel. Similarly, whenthe AP simultaneously schedules the plurality of uplink PPDUs, as shownin FIG. 6 , same duration needs to be first set for trigger frames onthe plurality of channels, so that the plurality of uplink PPDUs can besent simultaneously. By setting the same duration of the uplink PPDUs,it can be further ensured that subsequent BAs can be synchronized intime, so that while performing downlink transmission on a channel, theAP does not need to perform uplink reception on another channel.

For another example, as shown in FIG. 4 , when the first primary 20 MHzchannel is unavailable, if the AP supports preamble puncturing, twoPPDUs in 160 MHz bandwidths may be simultaneously sent. The firstprimary 20 MHz channel in the first PPDU in the 160 MHz bandwidth needsto be punctured (that is, no information is sent on the first primary 20MHz channel). Alternatively, a PPDU in a 320 MHz bandwidth is used, andthe first primary 20 MHz channel is punctured. In this way, a totalchannel bandwidth can reach 300 MHz, thereby further improving channelutilization efficiency.

It can be noted that, in the foregoing examples, when the first primary20 MHz channel is unavailable, the AP cannot schedule STAs allocated tothe first primary 20 MHz channel, because the STAs do not receive a PPDUsent on the secondary channel.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the foregoing merely usesan example to describe a case in which the primary channel is 20 MHz.During actual application, the primary channel may alternatively be lessthan 20 MHz or greater than 20 MHz. This embodiment is not limitedthereto.

It can be further understood that the foregoing merely uses an exampleto describe a case in which the AP establishes four primary channels.During actual application, there may be another quantity of primarychannels, for example, two primary channels, six primary channels, oreight primary channels. This embodiment is not limited thereto.

For example, in an implementation, in this embodiment, each 20 MHz inthe BSS may be used as a primary 20 MHz channel. For example, 16 primarychannels can be established in the 320 MHz channel. It can be understoodthat, more primary 20 MHz channels set in the BSS indicate higherpotential efficiency, but scheduling complexity is also increased. In aspecific implementation process, an appropriate compromise solution maybe selected based on complexity and efficiency. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

Case 2:

A plurality of primary channels correspond to a plurality of BSSs.

For example, the plurality of primary channels correspond to theplurality of BSSs, and channels of at least two of the plurality of BSSscompletely or partially overlap.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, a quantity of BSSs may beequal to a quantity of primary channels. In this case, the plurality ofBSSs are in a one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of primarychannels.

In this embodiment, a quantity of BSSs may alternatively be less than aquantity of primary channels. For example, at least one of the BSSscorresponds to at least two primary channels. This embodiment is notlimited thereto.

In Case 1, the AP establishes one BSS, where the BSS has a plurality ofprimary 20 MHz channels. However, in Case 2, the AP establishes aplurality of BSSs, where each BSS has one or more different primary 20MHz channels, and channels of the plurality of BSSs completely orpartially overlap.

For example, it is assumed that the AP establishes n (n>=2) BSSs.Herein, the n BSSs are referred to as a BSS 1, a BSS 2, . . . , and aBSS n. Because channels of each BSS may overlap, in this embodiment, abandwidth of each BSS may reach the maximum bandwidth supported by theAP. The following uses a specific example for description. It is assumedthat a bandwidth supported by the AP is 320 MHz, a total of four BSSsare set, and primary 20 MHz channels of the BSSs are respectivelylocated on different 80 MHz channels. As shown in FIG. 7 , a PCH 1, aPCH 2, a PCH 3, and a PCH 4 are respectively primary 20 MHz channels ofa BSS 1, a BSS 2, a BSS 3, and a BSS 4. A 20 MHz bandwidth mode, a 40MHz bandwidth mode, and an 80 MHz bandwidth mode of a BSS do not overlapthose of another BSS. The BSS 1 and the BSS 2 share a same 160 MHzbandwidth mode, and the BSS 3 and the BSS 4 share a same 160 MHzbandwidth mode. The BSS 1, the BSS 2, the BSS 3, and the BSS 4 share asame 320 MHz bandwidth mode. In this way, a bandwidth supported by eachBSS reaches 320 MHz through overlapping of different BSS channels.Further, when there are different pieces of BSS data and differentlocations of the primary 20 MHz channels of the BSSs, overlappingmanners of channel modes of the BSSs are different. This embodiment isnot limited thereto.

Correspondingly, in Case 2, the STAs are associated with one or moreBSSs, instead of being allocated by the AP to one or more primary 20 MHzchannels in one BSS in Case 1. Because the AP establishes the pluralityof BSSs, after channel contention ends, the AP may select one BSS tosend a PPDU or may select the plurality of BSSs to synchronously send aplurality of PPDUs, where the PPDUs occupy different channels.

In this embodiment, channels of the plurality of BSSs overlap with eachother. Therefore, if stations in the plurality of BSSs are allowed to bescheduled in one PPDU, there are more advantages. For example, signalingoverheads can be reduced. In the example shown in FIG. 7 , when theentire 320 MHz channel is available, if one STA in each of the BSS 1 andthe BSS 2 needs to transmit data, and a bandwidth required by each STAis 160 MHz, because PPDUs, in a 160 MHz bandwidth, of the BSS 1 and theBSS 2 occupy a same channel, the two PPDUs cannot be sent by using thetwo BSSs to allocate a 160 MHz bandwidth to each of the BSS 1 and theBSS 2. If a station is allowed to be scheduled across BSSs in one PPDU,the AP may send a PPDU in a 320 MHz bandwidth, and simultaneouslyschedule the STAs in the BSS 1 and the BSS 2 by allocating a 160 MHzbandwidth to each of the STA in the BSS 1 and the STA in the BSS 2.

In another embodiment, when the plurality of primary channels correspondto the plurality of BSSs, some or all of the plurality of BSSs have asame identifier ID or a same BSS color, and stations in different BSSsin the some or all BSSs have different identifiers.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , in this embodiment, the downlink PPDUmay include a preamble field, a media access control (MAC) frame headerfield, a data field, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field. In thePPDU, a signaling A (SIG-A) field in a preamble carries the same BSScolor, the MAC frame header field carries the same BSS ID, and asignaling B (SIG-B) field in the preamble carries the different stationidentifiers, for example, station association identifiers (AID).

In this embodiment, identifiers IDs or BSS colors of some or all of theplurality of BSSs are set to be the same. Therefore, in this embodiment,stations in the plurality of BSSs that have the same BSS identifier (ID)or the same BSS color can be simultaneously scheduled by using one PPDU.It can be understood that a frame format of the PPDU may be the same asa frame format of a PPDU used when a plurality of stations are scheduledin a single BSS. This embodiment is not limited thereto.

It can be understood that the foregoing examples in FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 aremerely intended to help a person of ordinary skill in the art understandthe embodiments, but are not intended to limit the embodiments to aspecific value or a specific scenario in the examples. A person ofordinary skill in the art apparently can make various equivalentmodifications or changes according to the examples shown in FIG. 1 toFIG. 8 , and such modifications or changes also fall within the scope ofthe embodiments.

It can be understood that sequence numbers of the foregoing processes donot mean execution sequences in the embodiments. The execution sequencesof the processes can be determined based on functions and internal logicof the processes and should not be construed as any limitation on theimplementation processes of the embodiments.

The foregoing describes in detail the methods in the embodiments withreference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 . The following describes data schedulingapparatuses in the embodiments with reference to FIG. 9 to FIG. 12 .

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a data scheduling apparatusaccording to an embodiment. The apparatus 900 may include:

a processing unit 910 and a transceiver unit 920.

The processing unit 910 is configured to allocate at least one of aplurality of primary channels to each of a plurality of STAs, whereactive access is forbidden on the plurality of primary channels.

The transceiver unit 920 is configured to synchronously schedule a STAon a channel including at least one idle primary channel, where thesynchronously scheduled STA is a STA allocated to the at least one idleprimary channel, and the at least one idle primary channel is at leastone of the plurality of primary channels.

Therefore, in the embodiments, an AP sets the plurality of primarychannels in a system bandwidth. The AP allocates at least one of theplurality of primary channels to each of the plurality of STAs, whereactive access is forbidden on the plurality of primary channels. The APsynchronously schedules the STA on the channel including the at leastone idle primary channel in the plurality of primary channels, where thesynchronously scheduled STA is the STA allocated to the idle primarychannel. In this embodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primarychannels, so that the AP can flexibly schedule the station by using theidle primary channel. This avoids a problem caused by setting only oneprimary channel in the prior art, thereby improving data transmissionefficiency.

In addition, in this embodiment, the AP schedules the STAs in a unifiedmanner, so that it is ensured that only uplink transmission or downlinktransmission can be performed at a same time, and a conflict caused whenboth uplink transmission and downlink transmission are performed at thesame time can be avoided.

It can be understood that the apparatus 900 has any function of theaccess point in the method embodiments. Details are not described hereinagain.

It can be understood that the term “unit” in this embodiment may be anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, aprocessor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or agroup processor) configured to execute one or more software or firmwareprograms, a memory, a merge logic circuit, and/or another suitablecomponent that supports the described function.

In an optional example, a person of ordinary skill in the art mayunderstand that the apparatus 900 provided in the embodimentscorresponds to the process performed by the access point in the methodembodiment in FIG. 2 . For functions of the units/modules in theapparatus, refer to the foregoing descriptions. Details are notdescribed herein again.

It can be understood that the apparatus in FIG. 9 may be an access pointor may be a chip or an integrated circuit installed in an access point.

An access point is used as an example. FIG. 10 is a schematic structuraldiagram of an access point according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG.10 , the access point 1000 may be used in the system shown in FIG. 1 ,to perform any function of the access point in the method embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the access point 1000 may include a processor 1010and a transceiver 1020. The processor 1010 is connected to thetransceiver 1020. Optionally, the access point 1000 further includes amemory 1030, and the memory 1030 is connected to the processor 1010.Further, optionally, the access point 1000 may further include a bussystem 1040. The processor 1010, the memory 1030, and the transceiver1020 may be connected by using the bus system 1040. The memory 1030 maybe configured to store an instruction. The processor 1010 may correspondto the processing unit 910, and the transceiver 1020 may correspond tothe transceiver unit 920. Thus, the processor 1010 is configured toexecute the instruction to control the transceiver 1020 to send andreceive information or signals, and the memory 1030 stores theinstruction.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the processor may be acentral processing unit (CPU), or may be another general purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), oranother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logicdevice, discrete hardware component, or the like. The general-purposeprocessor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be anyconventional processor or the like.

The memory may include a read-only memory and a random access memory andprovide an instruction and data for the processor. A part of the memorymay further include a non-volatile random access memory. For example,the memory may further store information about a device type.

The bus system may further include a power bus, a control bus, a statussignal bus, and the like, in addition to a data bus. However, for cleardescription, various types of buses in the figures are marked as the bussystem.

In an implementation process, the steps in the foregoing methods may becompleted by using a hardware integrated logic circuit in the processoror an instruction in a form of software. The steps in the methodsdisclosed with reference to the embodiments may be directly performedand completed through a hardware processor or may be performed andcompleted through a combination of hardware in the processor and asoftware module. The software module may be located in a mature storagemedium in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electricallyerasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium islocated in the memory, and the processor reads information from thememory and completes the steps in the foregoing methods in combinationwith hardware of the processor. To avoid repetition, details are notdescribed herein again.

It should be understood that the access point 1000 shown in FIG. 10 canimplement each process of the access point in the method embodiment inFIG. 2 . The operations and/or the functions of the modules in theaccess point 1000 are intended to implement corresponding procedures inthe foregoing method embodiments. For details, refer to the descriptionsin the foregoing method embodiments. To avoid repetition, detaileddescriptions are properly omitted herein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a data scheduling apparatus1100 according to an embodiment. The apparatus 1100 may include:

a processing unit 1110 and a transceiver unit 1120.

The processing unit 1110 is configured to: control the transceiver unit1120 to obtain at least one of a plurality of primary channels allocatedby an AP, where active access is forbidden on the plurality of primarychannels; and receive scheduling of the AP by using the at least oneprimary channel.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primarychannels in a system bandwidth. The AP allocates at least one of theplurality of primary channels to each of a plurality of STAs, whereactive access is forbidden on the plurality of primary channels. The STAreceives scheduling of the AP by using the at least one primary channel.In this embodiment, the AP sets the plurality of primary channels, sothat the AP can flexibly schedule the station by using an idle primarychannel. This avoids a problem caused by setting only one primarychannel in the prior art, thereby improving data transmissionefficiency.

In addition, in this embodiment, the AP schedules the STAs in a unifiedmanner, so that it is ensured that only uplink transmission or downlinktransmission can be performed at a same time, and a conflict caused whenboth uplink transmission and downlink transmission are performed at thesame time can be avoided.

It can be understood that the apparatus 1100 has any function of thestation in the method embodiments. Details are not described hereinagain.

It can be understood that the apparatus in FIG. 11 may be a station ormay be a chip or an integrated circuit installed in a station.

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus on a stationside according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12 , the apparatus1200 on the station side may be used in the system shown in FIG. 1 , toperform any function of the station in the method embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the apparatus 1200 on the station side may includea processor 1210 and a transceiver 1220. The processor 1210 is connectedto the transceiver 1220. Optionally, the apparatus 1200 on the stationside further includes a memory 1230, and the memory 1230 is connected tothe processor 1210. Further, optionally, the initiating device 1200 mayfurther include a bus system 1240. The processor 1210, the memory 1230,and the transceiver 1220 may be connected by using the bus system 1240.The memory 1230 may be configured to store an instruction. The processor1210 may correspond to the processing unit 1110, and the transceiver1220 may correspond to the transceiver unit 1120. Thus, the processor1210 is configured to execute the instruction to control the transceiver1220 to send and receive information or signals, and the memory 1230stores the instruction.

It can be understood that the apparatus 1200 on the station side shownin FIG. 12 can implement each process of the station in the methodembodiment in FIG. 2 . The operations and/or the functions of themodules in the apparatus 1200 on the station side are intended toimplement corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments.For details, refer to the descriptions in the foregoing methodembodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are properlyomitted herein.

An embodiment further provides a processing apparatus. The processingapparatus includes a processor and an interface. The processor isconfigured to perform the communication method in any one of theforegoing method embodiments.

It can be understood that the processing apparatus may be a chip. Forexample, the processing apparatus may be an FPGA, an ASIC, a SoC, a CPU,a network processor (NP), a DSP, a micro controller unit (MCU), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), or another integrated chip.

In an implementation process, the steps in the foregoing methods may becompleted by using a hardware integrated logic circuit in the processoror an instruction in a form of software. The steps in the methodsdisclosed with reference to the embodiments may be directly performedand completed through a hardware processor or may be performed andcompleted through a combination of hardware in the processor and asoftware module. The software module may be located in a mature storagemedium in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electricallyerasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium islocated in a memory, and the processor reads information in the memoryand completes the steps in the foregoing methods in combination with thehardware of the processor. To avoid repetition, details are notdescribed herein again.

It can be noted that the processor in the embodiments may be anintegrated circuit chip and has a signal processing capability. In animplementation process, the steps in the foregoing method embodimentsmay be completed by using a hardware integrated logic circuit in theprocessor or an instruction in a form of software. The foregoingprocessor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processorDSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or another programmable logic device, a discretegate or a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. Theprocessor may implement or perform the methods, the steps, and thelogical block diagrams that are disclosed in the embodiments. Thegeneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor maybe any conventional processor or the like. The steps in the methodsdisclosed with reference to the embodiments may be directly performedand completed through a hardware decoding processor, or may be performedand completed through a combination of hardware in the decodingprocessor and a software module. The software module may be located in amature storage medium in the art, such as a random access memory, aflash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, anelectrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storagemedium is located in a memory, and the processor reads information inthe memory and completes the steps in the foregoing methods incombination with the hardware of the processor.

It may be understood that, in the embodiments, the memory may be avolatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both a volatilememory and a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be aread-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatilememory may be a random access memory (RAM), used as an external cache.By way of example rather than limitative description, many forms of RAMsare available, for example, a static random access memory (SRAM), adynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronousdynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), a synchlinkdynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and a directrambus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM). It can be notedthat the memory of the systems and methods described includes but is notlimited to these memories and any memory of another proper type.

An embodiment further provides a communications system. Thecommunications system includes the foregoing access point and station.

An embodiment further provides a computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium stores a computer program, and when thecomputer program is executed by a computer, the method in any one of theforegoing method embodiments is implemented.

An embodiment further provides a computer program product. When thecomputer program product is executed by a computer, the method in anyone of the foregoing method embodiments is implemented.

All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by usingsoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When softwareis used for implementation, all or some of the embodiments may beimplemented in a form of computer program product. The computer programproduct includes one or more computer instructions. When the computerinstructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or some of theprocedures or functions according to the embodiments are generated. Thecomputer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer,a computer network, or another programmable apparatus. The computerinstructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or maybe transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to anothercomputer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructionsmay be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center toanother website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (forexample, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line(DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner.The computer-readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessibleby a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or a datacenter, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be amagnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetictape), an optical medium (for example, a high-density digital video disc(DVD)), a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid-state drive (SSD)),or the like.

It can be understood that the foregoing describes a communication methodused in downlink transmission in a communications system. However, isthe embodiments are not limited thereto. Optionally, a solution similarto one of the foregoing solutions may also be used in uplinktransmission. To avoid repetition, details are not described hereinagain.

The network device and the terminal device in the foregoing apparatusembodiments correspond to the network device and the terminal device inthe method embodiments. A corresponding module or unit performs acorresponding step. For example, a sending module (transmitter) performsa sending step in the method embodiments, a receiving module (receiver)performs a receiving step in the method embodiments, and another stepthan the sending step and the receiving step may be performed by aprocessing module (processor). For a function of a specific module,refer to a corresponding method embodiment. The sending module and thereceiving module may form a transceiver module, and the transmitter andthe receiver may form a transceiver, to jointly implement sending andreceiving functions. There may be one or more processors.

In embodiments, “at least one” means one or more, and “a plurality of”means two or more. The term “and/or” describes an associationrelationship for describing associated objects and represents that threerelationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent thefollowing cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists,where A and B may be singular or plural. The character “/” generallyindicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects. “At leastone of the following items (pieces)” or a similar expression thereofindicates any combination of these items, including a single item(piece) or any combination of a plurality of items (pieces). Forexample, at least one item (piece) of a, b, or c may indicate: a orb orc, or a and b, or a and c, orb and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, and cmay be singular or plural.

It can be understood that “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mentionedin the embodiments means that particular features, structures, orcharacteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least oneembodiment. Therefore, “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” thatappears does not necessarily mean a same embodiment. In addition, theseparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inone or more embodiments in any proper manner. It can be understood thatsequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean executionsequences in the embodiments. The execution sequences of the processesshould be determined based on functions and internal logic of theprocesses and should not be construed as any limitation on theimplementation processes of the embodiments.

Terms such as “component”, “module”, and “system” are used to indicatecomputer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardwareand software, software, or software being executed. For example, acomponent may be, but is not limited to, a process that runs on aprocessor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread ofexecution, a program, and/or a computer. As shown in figures, both acomputing device and an application that runs on a computing device maybe components. One or more components may reside within a process and/ora thread of execution, and a component may be located on one computerand/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, thesecomponents may be executed by various computer-readable media that storevarious data structures. For example, the components may communicate byusing a local and/or remote process and based on a signal having one ormore data packets (for example, data from two components interactingwith another component in a local system, a distributed system, and/oracross a network such as the Internet interacting with another system byusing the signal).

It can be further understood that the first, second, third, fourth, andvarious numbers included are merely distinguished for convenientdescription and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments.

It can be understood that the term “and/or” describes only anassociation relationship for describing associated objects andrepresents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or Bmay represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and Bexist, and only B exists.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combinationwith illustrative logical blocks and steps described in the embodiments,the embodiments may be implemented by electronic hardware or acombination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether thefunctions are performed by hardware or software depends on particularapplications and design constraints of the technical solutions. A personof ordinary skill in the art may use different methods to implement thedescribed functions for each particular application, but it should notbe considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may clearly understand that, forthe purpose of convenient and brief description, for detailed workingprocesses of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer tocorresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments. Details arenot described herein again.

In the several embodiments, it can be understood that the disclosedsystem, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. Forexample, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example. Forexample, the unit division is merely logical function division and maybe other division during actual implementation. For example, a pluralityof units or components may be combined or integrated into anothersystem, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition,the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings orcommunication connections may be implemented through some interfaces.The indirect couplings or communication connections between theapparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, orother forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate. Parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, tobe specific, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on aplurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selectedbased on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutionsof the embodiments.

In addition, function units in the embodiments may be integrated intoone processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, ortwo or more units are integrated into one unit.

All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by usingsoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When softwareis used for implementation, all or some of the embodiments may beimplemented in a form of computer program product. The computer programproduct includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When thecomputer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, allor some of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments aregenerated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, aspecial-purpose computer, a computer network, or another programmableapparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium or may be transmitted from acomputer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storagemedium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from awebsite, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer,server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, anoptical fiber, or a DSL) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, ormicrowave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be anyusable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, suchas a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. Theusable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, ahard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD),a semiconductor medium (for example, a SSD), or the like.

The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations, but arenot intended to limit the protection scope. Any variation or replacementreadily figured out by a person of ordinary skill in the art within thetechnical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within theprotection scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A data scheduling method, comprising: allocating,by an access point (AP), at least one of a plurality of primary channelsto each of a plurality of stations (STAs), wherein active access isforbidden on the plurality of primary channels; and synchronouslyscheduling, by the AP, a STA on a channel comprising at least one idleprimary channel, wherein the synchronously scheduled STA is a STAallocated to the at least one idle primary channel, and the at least oneidle primary channel is at least one of the plurality of primarychannels, wherein the plurality of primary channels correspond to aplurality of basic service sets (BSSs), and channels of at least two ofthe plurality of BSSs completely or partially overlap, some or all ofthe plurality of BSSs have a same identifier (ID) or a same BSS color,and stations in different BSSs in the some or all BSSs have differentidentifiers.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein thesynchronously scheduling, by the AP, of n STA on a channel comprising atleast one idle primary channel comprises: sending, by the AP on thechannel comprising the at least one idle primary channel, to the STAallocated to the at least one idle primary channel, one downlinkphysical protocol data unit (PPDU), or a plurality of downlink PPDUssimultaneously, wherein each PPDU occupies at least one primary channel;or sending, by the AP on the channel comprising the at least one idleprimary channel, to the STA allocated to the at least one idle primarychannel, one trigger frame, or a plurality of trigger framessimultaneously, wherein a PPDU in which each trigger frame is locatedoccupies at least one primary channel, and the trigger frame is used totrigger the STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel tosend one uplink PPDU or simultaneously send a plurality of uplink PPDUs;and receiving, by the AP, the uplink PPDU, or the plurality of uplinkPPDUs simultaneously.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein beforethe synchronously scheduling, by the AP, of a STA on a channelcomprising at least one idle primary channel, the method furthercomprises: accepting, by the AP, association performed by the pluralityof STAs in one of the following manners: an uplink orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing random access (UORA) manner; an enhanceddistributed channel access (EDCA) manner within a random contentionperiod allocated by the AP; or through another AP, wherein the anotherAP and the AP belong to a same device.
 4. The method according to claim1, wherein the plurality of primary channels correspond to one backoffcounter, after a continuous idle time period of a first primary channelin the plurality of primary channels reaches an arbitration interframespace (AIFS), if the first primary channel continues to be idle, thebackoff counter is decreased by 1 for each idle slot, and when a valueof the backoff counter is 0, the first primary channel is in an idlestate, wherein the first primary channel is any one of the plurality ofprimary channels.
 5. The method according to claim 4, furthercomprising: when the AP sends, on the channel comprising the at leastone idle primary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to theat least one idle primary channel, if at least one piece of data issuccessfully sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of the backoffcounter to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of the backoffcounter to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a valuetwice a current window value plus 1, wherein the data is the downlinkPPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equalto
 1. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the pluralityof primary channels corresponds to one backoff counter, after acontinuous idle time period of a second primary channel in the pluralityof primary channels reaches an AIFS, if the second primary channelcontinues to be idle, a second backoff counter corresponding to thesecond primary channel is decreased by 1 for each idle slot, and when avalue of the second backoff counter is 0, the second primary channel isin the idle state, wherein the second primary channel is any one of theplurality of primary channels.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of primary channels corresponds to onebackoff counter, after a continuous idle time period of a third primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if thethird primary channel continues to be idle, a third backoff countercorresponding to the third primary channel is decreased by 1 for eachidle slot, and after a value of the third backoff counter is 0, when avalue of a fourth backoff counter corresponding to a fourth primarychannel in the plurality of primary channels other than the thirdprimary channel is backed off to 0, the fourth primary channel is in theidle state, wherein the third primary channel and the fourth primarychannel are any two of the plurality of primary channels.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 6, further comprising: when the AP sends, on thechannel comprising the at least one idle primary channel, N pieces ofdata to the STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel, ifat least one piece of data is successfully sent, updating, by the AP, awindow value of a backoff counter corresponding to a primary channeloccupied by the N pieces of data to a preset minimum window value, or ifall the N pieces of data fail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a windowvalue of a backoff counter corresponding to a primary channel occupiedby the N pieces of data to a smaller one of a preset maximum windowvalue and a value twice a current window value plus 1, wherein the datais the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integer greaterthan or equal to 1; or when the AP sends, on the channel comprising theat least one idle primary channel, N pieces of data to the STA allocatedto the at least one idle primary channel, if at least one piece of datais successfully sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter corresponding to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter whose value is 0 and that corresponds to a primary channeloccupied by the N pieces of data to a smaller one of a preset maximumwindow value and a value twice a current window value plus 1, whereinthe data is the downlink PPDU or the trigger frame, and N is an integergreater than or equal to 1; or when the AP sends, on the channelcomprising the at least one idle primary channel, N pieces of data tothe STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel, if at leastone piece of data is successfully sent, updating, by the AP, a windowvalue of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and that corresponds to aprimary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to a preset minimumwindow value, or if all the N pieces of data fail to be sent, updating,by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is 0 and thatcorresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces of data to asmaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twice a currentwindow value plus 1, wherein the data is the downlink PPDU or thetrigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or whenthe AP sends, on the channel comprising the at least one idle primarychannel, N pieces of data to the STA allocated to the at least one idleprimary channel, if at least one piece of data is successfully sent,updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoff counter whose value is0 and that corresponds to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a preset minimum window value, or if all the N pieces of datafail to be sent, updating, by the AP, a window value of a backoffcounter corresponding to a primary channel occupied by the N pieces ofdata to a smaller one of a preset maximum window value and a value twicea current window value plus 1, wherein the data is the downlink PPDU orthe trigger frame, and N is an integer greater than or equal to
 1. 9.The method according to claim 1, wherein a maximum bandwidthcorresponding to each of the plurality of primary channels is a maximumbandwidth supported by the AP.
 10. A data scheduling method, comprising:obtaining, by a station (STA), at least one of a plurality of primarychannels allocated by an access point (AP), wherein active access isforbidden on the plurality of primary channels; and receiving, by theSTA, synchronous scheduling of the AP by using the at least one primarychannel, wherein the plurality of primary channels correspond to aplurality of basic service sets (BSSs), and channels of at least two ofthe plurality of BSSs completely or partially overlap, some or all ofthe plurality of BSSs have a same identifier (ID) or a same BSS color,and stations in different BSSs in the some or all BSSs have differentidentifiers.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein thereceiving, by the STA, scheduling of the AP by using the at least oneprimary channel comprises: receiving, by the STA by using the at leastone primary channel, one downlink physical protocol data unit (PPDU)sent by the AP or a plurality of downlink PPDUs simultaneously sent bythe AP, wherein each PPDU occupies at least one primary channel; orreceiving, by the STA by using the at least one primary channel, onetrigger frame sent by the AP or a plurality of trigger framessimultaneously sent by the AP, wherein a PPDU in which each triggerframe is located occupies at least one primary channel, and the triggerframe is used to trigger the STA to send one uplink PPDU orsimultaneously send a plurality of uplink PPDUs; and sending, by the STAto the AP, the uplink PPDU, or the plurality of uplink PPDUssimultaneously.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein before thereceiving, by the STA, scheduling of the AP by using the at least oneprimary channel, the method further comprises: associating with, by theSTA, the AP in one of the following manners: an uplink orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing random access (UORA) manner; an enhanceddistributed channel access (EDCA) manner within a random contentionperiod allocated by the AP; or through another AP, wherein the anotherAP and the AP belong to a same device.
 13. The method according to claim10, wherein a maximum bandwidth corresponding to each of the pluralityof primary channels is a maximum bandwidth supported by the AP.
 14. Adata scheduling apparatus, comprising a processor and a memory, whereinthe memory stores program code, and the processor invokes the programcode stored in the memory to execute the following operations:allocating, at least one of a plurality of primary channels to each of aplurality of stations (STAs), wherein active access is forbidden on theplurality of primary channels; and synchronously scheduling a STA on achannel comprising at least one idle primary channel, wherein thesynchronously scheduled STA is a STA allocated to the at least one idleprimary channel, and the at least one idle primary channel is at leastone of the plurality of primary channels, wherein the plurality ofprimary channels correspond to a plurality of basic service sets (BSSs),and channels of at least two of the plurality of BSSs completely orpartially overlap, some or all of the plurality of BSSs have a sameidentifier (ID) or a same BSS color, and stations in different BSSs inthe some or all BSSs have different identifiers.
 15. The apparatusaccording to claim 14, wherein the processor invokes the program codestored in the memory to execute the following operations: sending on thechannel comprising the at least one idle primary channel, to the STAallocated to the at least one idle primary channel, one downlinkphysical protocol data unit (PPDU), or a plurality of downlink PPDUssimultaneously, wherein each PPDU occupies at least one primary channel;or sending on the channel comprising the at least one idle primarychannel, to the STA allocated to the at least one idle primary channel,one trigger frame, or a plurality of trigger frames simultaneously,wherein a PPDU in which each trigger frame is located occupies at leastone primary channel, and the trigger frame is used to trigger the STAallocated to the at least one idle primary channel to send one uplinkPPDU or simultaneously send a plurality of uplink PPDUs; and receivingthe uplink PPDU, or the plurality of uplink PPDUs simultaneously. 16.The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the operations furthercomprise: accepting association performed by the plurality of STAs inone of the following manners: an uplink orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing random access (UORA) manner; an enhanced distributedchannel access (EDCA) manner within a random contention period allocatedby the AP; or through another AP, wherein the another AP and the APbelong to a same device.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 14,wherein the plurality of primary channels correspond to one backoffcounter, after a continuous idle time period of a first primary channelin the plurality of primary channels reaches an arbitration interframespace (AIFS), if the first primary channel continues to be idle, thebackoff counter is decreased by 1 for each idle slot, and when a valueof the backoff counter is 0, the first primary channel is in an idlestate, wherein the first primary channel is any one of the plurality ofprimary channels.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein eachof the plurality of primary channels corresponds to one backoff counter,after a continuous idle time period of a third primary channel in theplurality of primary channels reaches an AIFS, if the third primarychannel continues to be idle, a third backoff counter corresponding tothe third primary channel is decreased by 1 for each idle slot, andafter a value of the third backoff counter is 0, when a value of afourth backoff counter corresponding to a fourth primary channel in theplurality of primary channels other than the third primary channel isbacked off to 0, the fourth primary channel is in the idle state,wherein the third primary channel and the fourth primary channel are anytwo of the plurality of primary channels.
 19. The apparatus according toclaim 14, wherein a maximum bandwidth corresponding to each of theplurality of primary channels is a maximum bandwidth supported by theAP.